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NJ Transit shies away from total alcohol ban

Despite problems which lead to several arrests and one passenger being treated for alcohol poisoning and complaints from trainst advocates, NJ Transit officials said they take a case by case approach to banning alcohol from trains rather than enacting a blanket ban. One problem is dealing with the passenger who is drunk when the board the train.

NJ Transit shies away from total alcohol ban

A Long Branch bound NJ Transit train pulls in to Bay Head. NJ Transit police had to take an unruly passenger off a Bay Head to Long Branch train last Sunday who was charged with disorderly conduct.
(Photo:
Staff Photo Larry Higgs
)

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Should alcohol be banned from NJ Transit trains? Officials said they prefer to deal with specific event and issues

When NJ Transit police boarded the train in Matawan-Aberdeen to investigate, two groups of juveniles disembarked. Police sent a woman who had signs of alcohol poisoning and a man who had facial injuries to the hospital.

Despite alcohol-related incidents like this, NJ Transit officials said they won't impose a blanket alcohol ban on trains, but prefer to use spot bans for specific events, such as certain concerts or parades known for drinking.

"At this point, we've taken a surgical approach rather than a blanket ban," said William Smith, NJ Transit spokesman. "We regularly look at issues regarding unruly customers."

Consumption of alcohol is permitted on NJ Transit trains, but that can and has been rescinded as conditions warrant, he said. The consumption of all beverages is banned on the agency's buses, Smith said.

The reluctance to enact a blanket ban on trains is a nod to commuters who have the option to buy beer in major terminals such as Penn Station, New York, to drink on the ride home. In past years, commuter trains had bar cars, but one of the last such cars was retired by Metro North this year.

Even a request in June for an alcohol prohibition by a Union County rider was tempered with an exemption for evening commuters.

"Crews have to deal with intoxicated passengers and most of the disruptive passengers are young passengers with the bravado that would rival a Roman gladiator," said Stephen Thorpe of Winfield. It wasn't the first time Thorpe complained about the bad behavior of alcohol-fueled riders.

He also asked the board to give conductors the power to revoke tickets of intoxicated, unruly passengers.

To an extent, conductors have that power now, Smith said.

"They can exercise discretion in calling for (police) assistance and denying someone transportation," he said, noting that "the individuals involved in last weekend's incident were believed to have boarded the train already intoxicated."

NJ Transit follows the pattern of other regional railroads, such as Metro North, which have procedures for dealing with drunken and unsafe behavior by passengers rather than an outright alcohol ban. The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers also hasn't taken a position on alcohol consumption on trains.

"The conclusion we've come to is we encourage personal responsibility," Smith said. "The overwhelming majority of our customers behave themselves."

The alcohol issue has come to a head in the past, leading to alcohol bans on St. Patrick's Day, the day of the Far Hills Steeplechase and for specific concerts. In 2013, NJ Transit banned alcohol from all trains on St. Patrick's Day after two conductors were assaulted the year before.

On St. Patrick's Day in 2012, NJ Transit police made 16 arrests, including two people who were charged with two aggravated assaults on train conductors, said NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo. Disorderly conduct charges were filed against 11 people, two were charged with trespass and one with theft of service. Trucillo said the goal was to deter passengers from boarding trains with alcohol or from consuming alcohol on board, not to write tickets or make arrests.

"Riders have told us when people are drinking on trains, they've seen disorderly behavior and they don't feel comfortable," Trucillo said. "People are in an enclosed environment and they want a quiet ride. Rowdy behavior makes people uncomfortable."